ASJ works to strengthen the public education system in Honduras. Public education in Honduras faces many challenges, including poor infrastructure, outdated teaching methodology and curriculum, and motivation challenges for both students and teachers. Given that over 2 million Honduran children depend on the public education system, our ASJ team has dedicated

itself to advocating for improvements to this system that will benefit those children who most need it. Our team not only advocates for national reform, but also walks alongside the communities we are advocating for. One of those children is Isabel, who is currently in fourth grade at her local elementary. Isabel and her sisters are being raised by their grandmother. Isabel attends our Impact Club in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Tegucigalpa. Impact Clubs are a safe space for children and youth to grow through service-learning, leadership- building activities, and the teaching of a violence prevention curriculum.

When Isabel first joined, she was shy and insecure, but with her consistent attendance we saw her deep desire to learn, participate, and become more involved in club activities.

Furthermore, her engagement and participation in school activities has also improved greatly. Family and community members have noticed that being a part of the Impact Club has helped Isabel’s self-esteem and development in spaces with other children. Our team has noticed that,

despite having financial difficulties at home, not having a father present, and only having her grandma to support her, Isabel feels very enthusiastic about going to school and growing up. She often expresses her desire to do well in school so she can help her grandmother and her sisters when she is older. Our community team has also reached out to Isabel’s grandmother inviting her into her grandaughter’s growth journey. Isabel’s grandmother has consistently participated in family activities led by our ASJ team and aimed at strengthening family relations, understanding children’s development and growth, and learning good parenting skills.

After joining the Impact Club in her neighborhood, Isabel has changed from being shy and insecure to becoming an enthusiastic and participative child. Isabel’s grandmother has expressed gratitude to our community team not only for working with her child, but also fostering a space where families grow strong together. Isabel and her grandmother are also part of our network of volunteers who collaborate with our team by collecting data on the number of school days children are receiving at their local public school and documenting the conditions under which students are learning.

For many years, we have been working with local community members to audit government services so we know what needs to be fixed to make schools better for Honduran children.

One of the main issues we identified when we started our work in education was that children in Honduras were not receiving the amount of school days required by the Honduran constitution.

We started advocating for the government to ensure that children went to school at least 200 days per year as required by law, and we also worked on raising awareness in the general public so they could be empowered to hold the authorities accountable.

Community members like Isabel and her grandmother are crucial to our work in building a better education system in Honduras. Isabel and her grandmother inspire us to continue working for justice in Honduras’s public education system.

We know that if conditions improve, children like Isabel will have a chance to continue dreaming and growing with enthusiasm and joy.